GOLDSTEIN: David Peterson proved no political dynasty lasts forever

Article content

These are dark times for Ontario’s Liberal party.

It barely regained official party status in February’s provincial election after seven years in the political wilderness.

This after voters awarded Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford a third consecutive majority government since Ford defeated the ruling Liberals, led by then-premier Kathleen Wynne, in 2018.

The Liberals remain in third place in the seat count behind the PCs and the NDP.

Their current leader and former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie, like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the recent federal election, failed to win a seat, but like Poilievre vows to carry on.

So it’s not surprising the Liberals today are looking back wistfully to happier times.

On Monday, 300 of them gathered in Toronto to celebrate the 40th anniversary, officially on June 26, of then-Liberal leader David Peterson’s unexpected rise to power in the 1985 election. That ended what was then the 42-year political dynasty of the Progressive Conservatives in Ontario.

Peterson’s surprise victory demonstrated that no political dynasty endures forever.

Which gives the Ontario Liberals — second in the popular vote behind the PCs in this year’s election — hope for the future.

The Progressive Conservatives in that 1985 vote entered the race with a 20-point lead over the Liberals — so, no, Poilievre isn’t the only politician to have ever blown a huge lead.

Several factors led to the PCs’ shocking demise.

Ontario’s popular PC premier Bill Davis had just announced his retirement from politics after a successful 14-year run in the province’s top job.

He handed the explosive issue of extending full funding to Catholic schools to the party’s chosen successor Frank Miller, 58 at the time, representing the rural riding of Muskoka.

Miller, though an effective cabinet minister, turned out to be a politician who is competent as a second-in-command but not as a leader — think of Paul Martin federally.

Then there was Peterson, 42 at the time and representing the urban riding of London Centre, who up to that point had been a workmanlike but uninspiring Liberal leader.

Not so during the campaign. Peterson went through a dramatic image and progressive policy metamorphosis and ended up winning the popular vote while capturing 48 seats to Miller’s 52.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

The Liberals then made a deal with the NDP, led by Bob Rae, given the similarity of their platforms.

It was a two-year accord known as the “agenda for reform,” in which the NDP’s 25 MPPs agreed to support the Liberals in return for passing specific legislation.

It worked like a charm for the Liberals, who for the next two years pursued an activist agenda on everything from banning extra billing by doctors to environmental reforms. Peterson was so popular in the ensuing 1987 election that even the Toronto Sun endorsed him. The Liberals captured an astounding 95 of the Legislature’s 130 seats.

But just three years later, Peterson succumbed to the hubris he accused the Tories of when they were in power, calling a premature election in 1990 without providing a credible reason for doing so.

The Liberals were tossed from power by the NDP, Peterson lost his seat and resigned on election night.

But his legacy is that he broke the back of the 42-year Tory dynasty in Ontario.

Since that 1990 election, Ontario has had five years of NDP government (1990-95), 15 years of Liberal government (2003-18) and 15 years and counting of PC government (1995-2003 and 2018 to the present.)

Because in politics, nothing lasts forever.